A suspected member of a child abuse ring, accused of targeting minors for nearly a decade, has been arrested in Karachi.
According to police, the suspect, a fruit vendor, was arrested from Karachi’s Qayyumabad with the help of locals.
DIG South Syed Asad Raza told a private news channel that the man was in custody while an accomplice of his had been identified and efforts for his arrest were underway.
Investigators revealed that they had obtained video evidence against the suspect, which showed multiple assaults involving young boys and girls. Although the exact number of victims is undetermined, authorities fear that it could exceed 100.
“Police have recovered a mobile phone from his custody with hundreds of videos filmed in his room,” DIG Raza confirmed, adding that the suspect was being interrogated.
The accused first moved to Qayyumabad in 2016 and began to lure children in 2019. At first, he ran a grocery store, and then a juice cart. The case surfaced when one of his alleged victims managed to secure a USB drive from him.
According to DIG Raza, the matter reached authorities after the child took the USB to a video shop to download music.
The shop owner discovered explicit footage on the device and informed locals, who apprehended and assaulted the suspect before handing him over to police. “A USB and the mobile phone are in police custody, and contain many such videos,” the DIG said.
Police also contacted the victims’ parents after the revelations were made. The father of two girls, ages ten and twelve, who had been complaining of body pain prior to reporting the abuse, filed one of the three formal complaints against the suspect.
According to another FIR, which was submitted by a labourer, on September 4, his 10-year-old sister was beaten inside the suspect’s house, and the incident was captured on camera.
A third complainant reported a seven-year-old daughter had remained silent for a week while suffering from pain.
A special investigation team led by Defence DSP Dr Saifullah has been constituted to probe the case. It includes the SHO and SIO concerned as well as the SIO of the Women Police Station.
Police are using all available resources and submitting daily progress reports.